First Niagara Arranges $43.5 Million Financing for U.S. Corrugated's New State-of-the-Art Packaging Facility in California

Published 4:07 PM ET Thu, 30 July 2015
Globe Newswire

PITTSBURGH, July 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Niagara Commercial Finance, the asset-based lending arm of First Niagara Financial Group (Nasdaq:FNFG), today announced that it closed on a $43.5 million financing package to help Pennsylvania-based U.S. Corrugated, Inc. expand its operations and open a new, state-of-the-art corrugated box plant in California. U.S. Corrugated manufactures and markets corrugated packaging products.

A unique syndication package for U.S. Corrugated, arranged by First Niagara's Asset-Based Lending and Capital Markets teams, included combining existing asset-based lending financing with term loans to support the Company's plant expansion and refinancing of an existing lender relationship. The successful syndication involved financing commitments from two other banks.

With six facilities located in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Louisiana, U.S. Corrugated's expansion into California will facilitate marketing, manufacturing and distribution growth for its corrugated products in the western U.S. The new facility, a 215,000 square foot manufacturing center, is located in Santa Fe Springs, CA and will employ up to 100 people. The facility should be fully operational by the end of this September.

"This transaction was an innovative approach to help facilitate our expansion and overall growth," said David Doherty, Chief Financial Officer for U.S. Corrugated. "The collaboration of First Niagara's team from various disciplines, along with other lenders, created an outcome that specifically provided the capital solution for implementing our financial strategy."

"Already a long-term partner with U.S. Corrugated, our collective team enabled the structuring of a compelling financing package that facilitated a transaction to fit U.S. Corrugated's game plan," said James Cannella, First Vice President of First Niagara's Asset-Based Lending team. "Our knowledge of this client and special commercial lending solutions led to being selected as the lead arranger and administrative agent for this deal."

For more specific information and contacts about First Niagara Commercial Finance, write to Commercial.finance@fnfg.com, or call (877) 260-7099.

About U.S. Corrugated

Headquartered in Coal Center, Pennsylvania, U.S. Corrugated, Inc., a privately-held corporation, is a leading independent manufacturer of corrugated packaging and point-of-purchase displays. Along with its strategic partner companies, U.S. Display Group, Kampack Inc., and U.S. Corrugated of Milwaukee Inc., U.S. Corrugated offers its customers a single source solution for a complete portfolio of corrugated products for packaging, distribution and merchandising.

About First Niagara

First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank with approximately 390 branches, $39 billion in assets, $28 billion in deposits, and approximately 5,300 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For additional information on First Niagara, visit us at www.firstniagara.com, follow us on Twitter @FirstNiagara, or like us on Facebook at FirstNiagaraBank.